A video from earlier this year showing people firing their rifles in the air is viral with false captions claiming that Rajputs in Rajasthan celebrated Diwali with rifles after sale and purchase of firecrackers was banned in the state.
BOOM found that the viral video was filmed in March 2020 during the historical 'Jamra Beej' festival celebrated prominently in Menar, Rajasthan. The celebrations take place around Holi and is also known as 'barudi holi'.
The clip is viral in the backdrop of ban on firecrackers in several states ahead of Diwali.
Also read 2019 Photo Falsely Shared As Ashok Gehlot Bursting Crackers On Diwali
The viral video shows people open fire in the air while others record the celebrations on their mobile phones. One can also see the colourful decoration in the vicinity.
A Hindi caption with the viral clip translates to 'Ashok Gehlot's Congress government in Rajasthan banned firecrackers on Diwali. So Rajputs celebrated Diwali in their own way. Jai Hindutva, Jai Rajputana."
(Hindi: राजस्थान में अशोक गहलोत की कोंग्रेस सरकार ने दिवाली पर पटाखे बेन किये। फिर क्या, वहाँ के राजपूतों ने अपने अंदाज़ में दिवाली मनाई? जय हिंदुत्व जय राजपुताना।)
Viral posts can be seen above and their archived versions are available here and here. The video is widely shared on Facebook and Twitter.
Also Read:No, This Video Does Not Show Yogi Adityanath Bursting Firecrackers On Diwali
Fact Check
BOOM did a reverse image search on the key frames from the video through Yandex and found several similar clips. We found a video uploaded on a YouTube channel named Pankaj Menariya on August 22, 2018 with a description 'Menar Jamra Beej'.
A similar video was uploaded on March 22, 2019 with a description reading: मेनार इतिहास का बहुत बड़ा योगदान है। जमराबिज 2019".
Taking cue from the videos, we searched Google with relevant keywords and found several reports on Jamra Beej festival celebrated in Menar village, around 50 kilometer from Udaipur. People play 'baroodi holi' as a tradition on the second day of Holi, the reports stated.
A report published in News18 published in 2018 states that the 'gunpowder used in celebrating Holi here makes it look like Diwali instead of Holi'.,
A keyword search with words including 'baroodi holi', 'Jamra Beej'. 'Menar holi' led us to the same video that is viral now with a fake claim.
This video was uploaded on Facebook page Umesh Menaaria II on March 12, 2020 with a Hindi caption that translates to 'A glimpse of Menar Jamrabeej bravery festival 2020'.
"मेनार जमराबिज शौर्य पर्व की झलक 2020।"
Click here to view another post from the same festival.
To read more about the festival, click here.
Also read 2016 Video Viral As Diwali Celebrations By The Indian Navy